MAP07: A Python's Shed Skin (The Box of a Thousand Demons)

MAP07: A Python's Shed Skin is the seventh map of The Box of a Thousand Demons. It was designed by Thelokk and uses the music track "".

Essentials
The map has an open layout, and the objective - reaching the blue key to the northwest, in order to access the large building at the center of the canyon - can be achieved by a number of routes, some of which allow you to skip large parts of the map. This suggested route assumes the player is interested in collecting as much ammo as possible, and that they intend to vanquish the largest possible number of enemies.

Grab the chaingun and leave the safety of the alcove you started in: from now on there will be little to no cover available, and projectiles might reach you all the way from the opposite end of the map, so beware. Take a sharp turn right and jump down one tier, landing on a narrow rocky ledge, where an ambush of chaingunners, sargeants and a Hell knight will be waiting. Grab the super shotgun and proceed along the rocky ledge - should you drop, a teleport pad will be available. You will encounter a small platforming section, made slightly more challenging by a sudden pain elemental.

Shortly after the platforming section, the path will drop abruptly. Jump down into the water basin, and be ready for a large ambush of demons and cacodemons. Climb the wooden stairs to your right, then take the lift in order to return to higher ground. Proceed once again along the rocky ledge, paying attention to sniping revenants and zombiemen. There will be another short platforming section, leading to the rocky island where the blue key is. Be careful, however, as approaching the key will trigger an arch-vile to appear, or a mancubus on Hurt Me Plenty and below.

Once you have the blue key, you can reach the central building in a number of ways, including dropping down, taking the teleporter to the start and following the path west to east across the basin; or retracing your steps to the lift you took previously, which you can use as a ramp to jump on the ledge surrounding the building itself. Open the only door, to the south, and enter the building into the next map.

Secrets

 * 1) At the east building, go to the southeast side and face east to a column. Run and jump to it to teleport to a backpack. (sector 292)
 * 2) Approach the building east of the start and when you see eight shotgun shells, fall south to pick up a berserk pack. (sector 318)

Current records
The records for the map at the Doom Speed Demo Archive are:

The data was last verified in its entirety on March 20, 2023.

Player spawns
This level contains four spawn points:
 * 1) facing south-east. (thing 222)
 * 2) facing south. (thing 223)
 * 3) facing west. (thing 224)
 * 4) facing north. (thing 225)

Things
This level contains the following numbers of things per skill level: